Growing up
by star gazing girl
Summary: When Casey and Derek find out that they're having a baby, they have to grow up quickly. But will Derek be able to stay loyal to Casey? And will Casey be able to trust him? Dasey!
1. Chapter 1

_My first LWD fic! Please be kind and, as always, review! (Flames and critism are more than welcome!)_

_Chapter 1_

"Are you sure you want to do this, Casey?" Nora asked nervously. She watched as her

oldest daughter packed up her clothes, grim faced. "I mean, you're still a teenager."

"I'm seventeen, Mom." Casey said quietly. "I'm not a child anymore. Besides, if I stay here, things might get...awkward." She picked up another pile of neatly folded underclothes. "I'm almost done here. Why don't you go downstairs and make sure Lizzie has my other bags in my car?"

Nora walked hesitantly towards the door, then stopped and walked back to Casey and enfolded her in a hug. "I still love you, Casey." She whispered in her daughter's ear. "If you ever need anything at all, please, call me."

Casey's eyes filled, and she squeezed her mother tightly. "Thanks, Mom." She murmured. "I needed that." She pulled away and wiped at her teary eyes. "I'll be down shortly." She added stiffly. Nora forced a smile, nodded, and walked out, and Casey turned her attention to her almost-empty room. Her dresser was almost empty, except for the bottom drawer. Casey shut the door to her room, then knelt beside her dresser and opened the drawer slowly. In the very back, there was a small bag. And inside that bag was Casey's new favorite possession. Slowly, she opened the bag and pulled out an oversized jersey. It was Derek's, of course; she had stolen it from his room weeks ago. He never noticed, and she would never tell him. Casey laid it back in the small bag, folded it up, and carefully placed it in her last suitcase. Then, taking a deep steady breath, she zipped it shut, picked it up, and walked down the stairs.

Her entire family was waiting in the living room; only one person was absent, and that was because he was away at some hockey training camp. It was the only reason Casey had picked today, of all days, to leave.

"Are you sure you have to leave, Casey?" Marti asked. "I don't want you to."

"I have to, Marti." Casey whispered, and she bent over to hug her stepsister closely. "I'll miss you so much. But listen!" She pulled back enough to look Marti in the eyes. "I'll come back to visit you as much as I can. And as soon as I get set up, we can have a sleep over–just me and you and Lizzie. Would you like that?" Marti smiled and nodded, and Casey moved on to hug Edwin.

"I still think you should stay." He grumbled. "Who cares what stupid people have to say?"

"It's alright." Casey soothed. "Maybe I'll move back someday. You never know!" She didn't mention that she cared what 'stupid people' had to say, or that one of the stupid people was the one person she loved with all her heart. She reached out and hugged Lizzie, who simply squeezed Casey as hard as she could and sobbed nearly hysterically.

"Hey, take it easy!" She urged, patting Lizzie gently. "Careful, breakable cargo." Lizzie forced a grin and nodded.

"We'll come over to visit in the next week or so, Casey." George told her. His eyes were carefully averted from her pretty face, but at least he was talking to her now. Last week, after she told him the news, he had avoided her like the plague, his face angry. "And...make sure you let us know what's going on, okay?"

"I will. Promise." Casey agreed. She moved on to hug her mother. "You remember the story we agreed to tell Derek, right?" She asked softly.

"What story you agreed to tell me?" A new voice asked. The whole family turned to stare in horror at Derek, struggling with a duffle bag over each arm and a bag of hockey gear on his arm.

"Derek." Nora's voice was strained. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here." Derek replied practically as he dumped the bags on the couch. His eyes took in their expressions–George's anger glower, Nora's flushing face, Lizzie's red rimmed eyes, Edwin's wondering gaze, and Marti's sad countenance. Even Casey was acting weird; she turned slightly away and bit her lower lip, eyes filled with tears.

"What Nora meant is..." George finally offered. "What are you doing back so early? Camp wasn't supposed to let out for another week."

"Got kicked out for excessive fighting." Derek reported. "How weird is that? I mean, it's hockey. There's no such thing as 'excessive fighting'." He shrugged and sat down on the couch, still facing his family. "And whose's car is that outside?"

"Mine." Casey muttered.

"Hey, cool!" Derek stretched. "You can give me a ride to school now." He stopped and laughed. "Could I borrow it for a date this Saturday?"

An odd combination of looks crossed George's face before he spoke. "I don't think so."

Derek shrugged and stood up, then looked at the bags around Casey. "I didn't think you were going to camp this summer?"

"I'm not." Casey stammered. "I...I'm, um...I'm moving out."

"Aren't you kind of young to be moving out?" Derek demanded.

Nora hesitated. "We thought...this might make things easier on everyone." She explained. "Casey's going through some very difficult times right now, and she needs as much space as possible."

"Where's she going to live?" Derek pried. "In another city or what?"

"About five minutes away." Casey muttered. Her face was turning a curious shade of red, and she refused to have eye contact with him. "It's a little house."

"Why are you moving out?" Derek asked suddenly. "What aren't you guys telling me?"

"Sometimes..." George began, just as Nora forced a laugh and said something about it not mattering.

Marti looked up with confusion. "I thought it was because of the new baby!" She chirped.

"Nora's having a baby?" Derek demanded. "Why didn't anyone tell me? And that doesn't explain why Casey's leaving!"

"Um..." Edwin stalled uncertainly. Lizzie rolled her eyes and walked up the stairs wordlessly.

And Casey bent over to grab her bags, then looked up and made complete eye contact with Derek for the first time. "Mom's not having a baby." She said simply. "I am. I'm pregnant." Then, without a backward glance, Casey quietly marched out of the house, threw her suitcases in the backseat, and drove away. She could see Derek standing on the porch of the house, his eyes wide with sudden realization and fear.

But to Casey's credit, she didn't break down into tears or stop the car and run into his arms the way she wanted to. No; instead she waited until she was parked in front of her new house before she burst into tears, wrapping her arms around her belly and sobbing hysterically until she had no tears left. At last, she wiped her face, grabbed her bags, and fumbled out her new house key. She locked the door behind her, dropped her bags on the floor the way Derek had done so many times, and sat on the floor of the living room. She felt so tired...tired of feeling ashamed for falling for Derek, tired of hiding her growing baby bump, tired of feeling uncertain. Her eyes crashed shut, and Casey dozed in the front hall of her new home.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

Derek jogged down the sidewalk, hoping and praying his dad or Nora wouldn't check his

bedroom for him. If they did, they'd find his pillows stuffed under the blankets and his cell phone on his dresser. Though he felt guilty for sneaking out of his room (especially on the same day Nora made her famous spaghetti and pie for dessert), he had to get answers. He had already been home for a week, and no one had told him anything about Casey and her pregnancy. But that didn't stop everyone at school from calling him. It had gotten so bad that Nora and George were screening his calls.

Finally, he spotted Casey's cute little car parked in front of a cute little house. There were several newly planted flower gardens in the front yard and a colorful welcome sign hanging on the door. Taking a deep breath, he opened the gate, walked down the sidewalk, and knocked on the door, then leaned against the doorframe.

"Coming!" A female voice called. "Just...give me a minute, please!" Derek angled himself so he could see in the house but Casey couldn't see him. True to her word, she was walking down the hallway wearing a pair of jeans, a stained apron, and a maternity top. She stopped, fussed with her hair for a split second, and then pulled the door open with a wide, welcoming grin.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you to be careful when you don't know who's at the door?" Derek asked pointedly. "I might have been an axe-murderer, you know."

"Oh." Casey's cheeks flushed, and she stepped back. "Right. Why don't you come in?" She indicated a cute little living room, decorated in fresh cool colors. "I was just cooking dinner." She added breathlessly. "Would you care to join me?"

"Sure." Derek agreed. He sat down on the sofa and wondered how Casey had managed to buy a nice new set of furniture...or anything else in that room. Everything was nicely coordinated, from her pale yellow walls to her sunflower boarder to her green sofa and love seat that matched the leaves in the boarder.

Casey sat beside him on the sofa, but she scooted to the other end and faced him warily. "Well?" She asked.

"Well." Derek echoed. "You're...pregnant, huh?"

"Yeah." Casey straightened a pile of magazines on the table. "Sorry I didn't let you know before, but I had to get everything in order. You know, car, house, baby shower. All that stuff."

"Oh." Derek watched her face carefully before her spoke again. "How are along are you?"

"Tuesday made twelve weeks." Casey shrugged and glanced at her hands. "It's a girl."

"Yeah?" Derek smiled without meaning to, picturing a little girl with Casey's eyes and his hair. But would she actually have his hair? Was he the father? Briefly, Derek tried to remember where he was twelve weeks ago, failed, and looked up at Casey again. She was watching him steadily, a slight smile on her lips.

"It's killing you, isn't it?" She asked. "Not know who the father is."

"Um." Derek forced a casual shrug. "You know, it's just...everyone keeps calling me and asking me who the proud daddy is. You know, Sam and Max..."

"They know it's not them." Casey checked her watch and gestured for Derek to follow her into the small, airy kitchen. "Sam and I broke up about six months ago. Besides, we never..." She paused, glanced at Derek, and began stirring a pot on the stove. Max and I didn't break up until I told him, and we hadn't done anything either."

"So who is the father?" Derek pressured, despite the fact that he already knew who the father was.

Casey put down her spoon and turned to look at him. "I didn't tell him because I didn't want him to fenced in so young. I knew it'd probably make him resentful, and I wanted him to live a full life."

"Casey, just tell me who is it, okay?" Derek repeated.

"You." Casey tasted the thick liquid in the pot and stirred in some salt. "I'm making spaghetti, by the way. It's almost done. Go wash up."

"Wait." Derek caught Casey by the shoulders and turned her around. "I'm the father?"

"Yeah." Casey arched her eyebrows. "You know it's possible."

"I know." The words were out of Derek's mouth before he could stop himself. "But Case...wait." He added. "Why didn't you tell me? You know I'd help you."

"I don't want you to feel obligated." Casey insisted. "I can manage." She piled the limp noodles on a plate, poured sauce over them, and pressed it against Derek's chest.

"Thanks." He said mechanically. Things that had made no sense before were connecting in his head. "Does Nora and Dad know?"

"Yeah." Casey fixed her own plate and left it on the counter to wash her hands. "Did you wash up?"

"Case." Derek looked at her, then slowly smiled. "I hope you aren't going to drive our daughter insane. If she's anything like me, she'll hate washing her hands."

Casey looked up at him and grinned. "I hope Desiree isn't that much like you." She commented.

"Is that the name you picked out?" Derek dried his hands and sat at the table. Casey nodded. "Desiree Jennifer Venturi. Sounds good."

"Jennifer?" Casey repeated. "Actually her name's Desiree Elizabeth MacDonald."

Derek put down his fork. "So you just want to be able to point at me and say that I'm her daddy, but not let her have my last name?"

"Well..." Casey hesitated. "It might be difficult to explain to her why I have a different last name than her."

"You just don't get it, do you?" Derek groaned. "Look, Casey, I want to help raise our baby. But I can't do that if I'm down the street with Nora and Robo-Dad."

"Robo-Dad?" Casey echoed.

"He's went completely insane. I'm surprised he doesn't have me chained up in the backyard. Actually, I'm really surprised that he's letting Edwin and me take off our pants in the house. He keeps checking up on us at random times of the day and won't let Lizzie go in my room or Edwin's room without him or Nora there too." Derek explained. "But I guess I'd be the same way if I found out my stepchild was pregnant by my kid...and it had happened in my own house."

"So you want to move in." Casey finished.

"Eventually." Derek agreed. "But first of all, I have to do something I promised my mom I'd do if this ever happened." He reached in his pocket, found a small ring, and knelt beside Casey. "Will you marry me?"

Her whole face lit up. "How sweet!" She cooed. "Yes, of course I will!" Derek smiled and slid the ring on her finger.

"Now we only have one thing left to do." He added. "Talk Dad and Nora into telling us get married as quickly as possible."

"Exactly." Casey agreed. "All the maternity dresses I've ever seen are ugly." She looked down at her sparkling ring and smiled before focusing on her spaghetti."

Not exactly the way I planned to grow up, but this works. Derek thought as he returned to his own seat. He smiled at Casey as she looked up at him, then inwardly frowned as she looked back at her food. I just hope I don't do something stupid and break her heart. Derek thought quietly.


End file.
